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Be safe all....
- Thread starter mcgyver74
- Start date
ChipDoc
Sport Tourer
It's disturbing because it's true. Motorcycling is one of those things where we know before we start that this can happen to us - our mothers told us. The lucky ones still have their mothers telling them.
Being prepared to deal with problems is the best way to ensure that you won't have to.
But there are no guarantees... ???
Being prepared to deal with problems is the best way to ensure that you won't have to.
But there are no guarantees... ???
gPink said:
Funny, but when they got their license, they were JUST driving the car. NOT talking on the phone,
not putting on make-up, not reading the paper, not worrying about where the crumbs fell...
...ALL they did was drive the car... and most failed the first time. What gave them the idea they
had the right to start multi-tasking? It was never on the test!! Age has given me the ability to
understand why the examiner was such a hard ass... he was trying to save humanity...
This is a timely discussion (although probably belongs in the safety section). Last week I did a safety presentation for a local riding club on visual perception with about 50 riders in attendance. I lead a discussion using a few visual aids.
Watch this video to begin to understand why "I didn't see him" translates to "I did not consciously look for him."
http://online2.msf-usa.org/msf/videos4.aspx
Distracted driving/riding is not new - it has been around for years. Our cars have become an extension of our home. I bet most all of us probably do something else except "just drive." The most common distractions are having a conversation with a passenger or attentively listening to a talk radio/comedy program. What about talking on CB/Ham radio, looking at directions or a map, or fiddling with the radio controls?
Let's consider the "I didn't see him" a bit further. There was a post recently on here about Motion Induced Blindness (MIB) here on the forum. MSF posted this visual phenomena on their web site and it has gotten a bit of attention recently. It is a phenomenon of “visual disappearance” in which important visual stimuli disappear as if erased in front of the observers eyes. I can’t explain it, but I tried it for myself and was amazed. This may be one contributing factors when people look directly at you while driving and don’t see you. Remember, the yellow dots are not blinking or really disappearing. It is an optical illusion.
Another study identified a condition know as Inattentional Blindness, also known as perceptual blindness. This is when a person fails to notice some stimulus that is in plain sight. This stimulus is usually unexpected but fully visible. This typically happens because humans are overloaded with inputs. There have been multiple experiments performed that demonstrate this phenomenon. Here are two videos based on one of the most well-known studies on inattentional blindness.
Try this one for yourself... be sure to count how many passes the white team makes.
Test Your Awareness: Do The Test
How did you do? Did you get the right count? Where you surprised at the result? Out of a room of nearly 50 riders, most got the right count, but failed to notice what was special about the video.
These phenomena illustrate why it is important to be actually seen by others. One way to become more visible in traffic is by choosing riding gear that stands out from the ordinary. High-visibility riding gear is becoming more popular each year. If this is not your cup of tea then consider wearing brightly colored helmet and gear or have some retro-reflective material on yourself or your motorcycle. Extra lighting or modulated headlights can help, but these are typically uni-directional.
Another thing to consider is riding in a manner that does not cause you to become invisible. Consider the scenario where you are following a bit too close behind a large truck and positioned to the right side of your lane. What does oncoming traffic see? Some may see a gap in which they can sneak a quick left hand turn before other traffic comes along. Unfortunately they just turned into the rider and neither may be able to react quick enough to avoid the crash. In this case a better riding position would be to the left side of the lane and along with increased following distance would have helped oncoming traffic see the rider.
Watch this video to begin to understand why "I didn't see him" translates to "I did not consciously look for him."
http://online2.msf-usa.org/msf/videos4.aspx
Distracted driving/riding is not new - it has been around for years. Our cars have become an extension of our home. I bet most all of us probably do something else except "just drive." The most common distractions are having a conversation with a passenger or attentively listening to a talk radio/comedy program. What about talking on CB/Ham radio, looking at directions or a map, or fiddling with the radio controls?
Let's consider the "I didn't see him" a bit further. There was a post recently on here about Motion Induced Blindness (MIB) here on the forum. MSF posted this visual phenomena on their web site and it has gotten a bit of attention recently. It is a phenomenon of “visual disappearance” in which important visual stimuli disappear as if erased in front of the observers eyes. I can’t explain it, but I tried it for myself and was amazed. This may be one contributing factors when people look directly at you while driving and don’t see you. Remember, the yellow dots are not blinking or really disappearing. It is an optical illusion.
Another study identified a condition know as Inattentional Blindness, also known as perceptual blindness. This is when a person fails to notice some stimulus that is in plain sight. This stimulus is usually unexpected but fully visible. This typically happens because humans are overloaded with inputs. There have been multiple experiments performed that demonstrate this phenomenon. Here are two videos based on one of the most well-known studies on inattentional blindness.
Try this one for yourself... be sure to count how many passes the white team makes.
Test Your Awareness: Do The Test
How did you do? Did you get the right count? Where you surprised at the result? Out of a room of nearly 50 riders, most got the right count, but failed to notice what was special about the video.
These phenomena illustrate why it is important to be actually seen by others. One way to become more visible in traffic is by choosing riding gear that stands out from the ordinary. High-visibility riding gear is becoming more popular each year. If this is not your cup of tea then consider wearing brightly colored helmet and gear or have some retro-reflective material on yourself or your motorcycle. Extra lighting or modulated headlights can help, but these are typically uni-directional.
Another thing to consider is riding in a manner that does not cause you to become invisible. Consider the scenario where you are following a bit too close behind a large truck and positioned to the right side of your lane. What does oncoming traffic see? Some may see a gap in which they can sneak a quick left hand turn before other traffic comes along. Unfortunately they just turned into the rider and neither may be able to react quick enough to avoid the crash. In this case a better riding position would be to the left side of the lane and along with increased following distance would have helped oncoming traffic see the rider.